Project 'Grand' Pan

[Kris]

Hi all, thought I'd share my adventure into the realms of restoration using my latest purchase, a 1994 Honda ST1100 Pan European bought for the princely sum of a cheeky grand from that Flea-bay. (Hence the name of the project ) I picked her up from 'Oop North last week after a pretty long dreary train ride. She was a little rougher than advertised so after a haggling session the price was reduced. So it was then that I hopped on and started the 375 mile trek home a little later than anticipated.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632911-full.jpg

Unfortunately of the two things on the bike that didn't work as intended turned out to be the fuel guage. (The other being a left front indicator). Cue a rather optimistic Kris feeling smug cruising at 90 in the fast lane after clicking over the 250mile mark on the trip-meter and seeing a half empty fuel guage. Cue Kris then panicking after the engine dying, trying to cross 3 lanes on a busy M1 motorway to get to a hard shoulder... doh!

After a push to a sliproad exit I parked up and went for a wander to find a services. Luckily I had only walked 3/4 of a mile until a kind biker (in a van at the time) stopped and offered a lift to a petrol station. Lift graciously accepted it was back to the bike to continue the maiden voyage back to chez Kristof.

Why have I bought a Pan? And why this particular one?
Well, firstly this was a cheapy with history and a 60k engine and more importantly I'm looking at touring this year with the missus. This then is a perfect opportunity to get to know the ins & outs of a bike and have something we can use for a few years without breaking the bank. I have a mechanic mate that I can use to help with the tricky jobs and also a contact that will shot-blast and powdercoat at very reasonable rates. Anyone that knows Pans will tell you the engine is good for high miles (if serviced etc) and the build quality is revered. Weak points are the hidden parts that are often neglected, such as the swingarm, exhaust collector, rear shock and pannier bracket fixings. On this bike all have suffered so a stripdown should show what needs junking and what can be saved with elbow grease.

The budget for this bike to be fixed is another cheeky grand. The hope is that by the end I'll have a bike that is solid, with minimal rust and reconditioned/new suspension that will have cost £2k.

<crosses fingers>
____________________
NSR125RR - ZXR750H1 - ZX9R E1 - GSF600S - GSF600SK3 - VFR400-NC30 - SV1000N - ST1100-R - CBR900RR-R - GSF1200SK5 - GSF600SK1 - VFR1200FA - GSXR1000K2 - ZZR1400 D8F
www.prisonplanet.com

[Kris]

The stripdown - Day 1

Okay so first task is seat off. Next, the screen comes away with five bolts to reveal a screen shroud and inner panel. After removing this I find a bolt and nut sitting there loose. Hmmm.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632913-full.jpg

Next the fairings. Honda didn't do things by halves so each panel is usually fully supported by half a dozen screws. Only after removing that will you be able to get to the next and so on.. The mirrors come away from the fairing by means of press-stud arrangement and then two bolts each side.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632914-full.jpg

After removing the faing pockets and trim panels the thermostat housing is revealed and shows quite a bit of corrosion. I think a fairing void is infront of this so probably to be expected if used in winter.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632916-full.jpg

After removing the side panels and trim, plus the dash console surround, the whole top fairning piece comes away as one. This includes the headlight assembly although I really struggled to remove the bulb connectors from the lights. In the end I resorted to removing the bulbs from teh lights and keeping them connected to the loom for now. I still can't see how the connector block comes off but I can investigate further down the line. For now the fairing is off.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632917-full.jpg

All fairing bolts come away easily enough, some obviously rusted more than others but none causing severe delays. I was quite pleased as a few of the lower main fairing bolts were copa-slipped showing signs of consideration by someone. All brackets and plastic tabs were in place and unbroken in the case of the front fairings. When removing the rear tail section of the fairing (which lifts away in one piece) I found the first broken tab. Still, not doing too bad really.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632918-full.jpg

The front mudguard came off easily (blimey!) which meant that all signs of red plastic bodywork and grey trim were now in the garden. I didn't realise there was so much!

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632919-full.jpg

The bike after day 1. Left to remove are headers, heat shields, exhausts, radiator, crash bars, main stand, swingarm, front forks...doh!

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632920-full.jpg
____________________
NSR125RR - ZXR750H1 - ZX9R E1 - GSF600S - GSF600SK3 - VFR400-NC30 - SV1000N - ST1100-R - CBR900RR-R - GSF1200SK5 - GSF600SK1 - VFR1200FA - GSXR1000K2 - ZZR1400 D8F
www.prisonplanet.com

[Gazdaman]

Good project, keep the work (and the pics) coming!

Gaz

[Kris]

The stripdown - Day 2

Day two and we continue the process of removing parts for cleaning, parts for shot-blasting & powdercoating and parts that have to await the local scrap man.

First comes the removal of the handlebar cover, which partially obscures the top yoke bolts. Also, the ignition is reluctant to engage the locked position so I want to have a nose around in this area generally. It's a fiddly design, with plastic tabs that locate in the side pieces and three screws that fix into brackets. Once removed the ignition barrel sits proud of the handlebars. (Handlebar cover pictured resting on airbox) I'm pleasantly suprised at the condition of parts under here. Someone along the way has wired in Oxford heated grips but left them disconnected for a while. I'm left wondering why so may remove all traces from the bike.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632921-full.jpg

Next task is the removal of footpeg brackets which on the Pan form one huge lump of cast alloy and provide mounts for rider and pillion, as well as supporting rear brake master cylinder, coolant tank and pannier locks. These are fixed with roughly four to five bolts into the frame. Only a couple gave me any bother becuase of the Loc-tite used. The right hand side is much harder to remove because of the rear brake assembly. In the end I removed the banjo bolt off of the brake master cylinder and unclipped the return spring off of the rear brake pedal. I'll remove the pegs / ancillaries properly when I clean them up.

The left hand side provides much less of a struggle and only requires the bottom bolts of the battery cage to be removed.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632922-full.jpg

Onto the exhausts which I already knew was a problem area with this particular bike. Sometime in it's past it had been treated to a new set of stainless headers, complete with stainless collector box. This was a pleasant suprise, only tainted by the realisation at the time of purchase that the mild steel Motad silencers were rotten as hell. Even the brackets clamping them to the collector box had died, one of which was missing in action. After almost an hour trying to get the silencers out of the collector box I gave in to pent up frustration and ripped them off.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632923-full.jpg

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632925-full.jpg

Lord only knows why someone replaced rotten-as-fark mild steel with mild steel again, having replaced stainless headers already. The mind boggles.

Here's a cheeky pic showing the surface rust on the swingarm which was completely hidden by panniers. Hopefully removal of this will show us the bigger picture but for now it looks easily salvageable.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632926-full.jpg

To get the headers off necessitates the removal of the heat shields and crash bars from both sides. To get good access to these areas it made sense to remove the radiator, also allowing this to be checked over and painted up. It had been quite badly affected by corrosion on the outside but didn't seem to be leaking and the coolant came out clean enough. Firstly came the obvious draining using the handy drain bolt, then the task of undoing the clamped hoses. This was more difficult as I doubt they'd ever been removed before. I was about to get excited and reach for the stanley knife after struggling but a mate appeared in the nick of time and showed me how to twist them to break their seal first.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632927-full.jpg

Once the hoses were removed it was a small matter of two bolts and a rubber grommet underneath, along with unclipping a fan switch to get the radiator off. I took a pic of the drain plug and radiator cap. There's a small amount of gunginess but nothing too untoward methinks..

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632928-full.jpg

Pic showing radiator corrosion from salt.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632929-full.jpg

Once the radiator was removed I unbolted each of the heatshields with what remaining bolts had survived. One side was rattling and held on with only one bolt, the other side fared little better. Unfortunately the mild steel had completely broken away around each mounting point making the bolts useless.

The last pieces in the way of the headers were the crash bars which were held in place by two bolts near the header clamps, plus held by an engine mount near the underside of the V-four lump. Once these were out the way I loosened the exhaust bolt near the centre stand which held the collector assembly, and prepared to undo the dreaded header bolts! Mind you, they came out easily enough. Phew!

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632930-full.jpg

Still to do on the list is swingarm removal (which has a cross-socket tool requirement which I do not own...great), fork removal, shock removal etc, etc... but I am getting there and next week will accomplish. The rear shock looks pretty corroded at the base of the spring but so far the shaft and seallook remarkably good...

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632933-full.jpg

And here's the bike as it stands after day two of the stripdown. Next time it should be on stands whilst all suspension is at the powdercoaters. Happy days.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/13/bikepics-1632932-full.jpg
____________________
NSR125RR - ZXR750H1 - ZX9R E1 - GSF600S - GSF600SK3 - VFR400-NC30 - SV1000N - ST1100-R - CBR900RR-R - GSF1200SK5 - GSF600SK1 - VFR1200FA - GSXR1000K2 - ZZR1400 D8F
www.prisonplanet.com

[KevTM]

Good stuff, hell of a big project Just seeing all that plastic turns me off completely

Good to see one under the skin though

[map]

Some good pics and write-up.
Looking forward to seeing the finished result.

IIRC looks like an ex Northern Pan Riders bike?

If you haven't found it already a resource for Pan stuff and rebuilding is at my-mc.com (UK/Europe) (General ST1100 here). Mainly US oriented but a few good posters from the UK.

HTH
____________________
...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[chris-red]

You can get new springs and shocks from Hagon for About £350, should make a hell of difference over 60k old suspention.
____________________
Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[Gazdaman]

Are you going to get the frame powder coated? Because getting that lump out doesn't look fun!

I guess the swing arm will be?

Good work, shall we take bets on how many bolts/small pieces of plastic you have left over once it's all put back together?

Gaz

[Thom]

im guessing 30 bolts and 4 pieces of plastic
____________________
Current Bike: 1996 Yamaha TRX850 (The Japanese-Ducati One).
Previous Bikes: 1990 Honda NSR125 'Rothmans' (The smoking one), 1990 Suzuki GS500e 'Caf? fighter' (The loud one), 1987 Kawasaki GPX400r (The quick one), 1997 XJ600s Diversion (The reliable one), 2000 Kawasaki ER-5 (The spontaneously combustive one)

[Kris]

[Bendy]

[Mudskipper]

Good work so far, they actually look pretty mean and sexy naked. FIGHTER!!!
____________________
CBR125|||GSXR400|||CBR400|||CBR400|||CB250RS|||GSXR750|||CB250RS
"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[Gazdaman]

[chris-red]

Oh yeah make sure the screen is secure, my friend flew off while doing 90 and hit him in the chest nearly killing him!
____________________
Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[Thom]

[Kris]

[Noxious89123]

Supercharge it and paint everything matt black?
____________________
'06 Honda CBR125RW-6 ~ '00 Honda CBR600F-Y ~ '07 Honda CBR600RR-7 ~ Bikeless
'53 Ford Ka 1.3 ~ '03 Vauxhall Astra SRi 1.8 ~ '52 Vauxhall Astra SRi 2.2 ~ '53 Vauxhall Astra GSi

[Kal]

Unsurprisingly I find myself in the same camp as Nox' and 'skipper.

I never realised what an evil, evil looking rat/fighter lurked underneath all of that plastic.


For some reason the Nurburing graphic on the front mudguard is amusing me as well...
____________________
Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
1984 GB250 Clubman,1983 CB250N Superdream, 1999 GPZ500S

[Dr. DaveJPS]

i keep looking at those and BMWk100 and thinking they would make good bases for cafe racers
____________________
"intelligent inattention is preferable to unintelligent tinkering"
www.davejps.com

[Kris]

The stripdown - Day 3

This weekend I couldn't spend more than half a day on the Pan, although was quietly optimistic that I'd get all the remaining parts off and be in a position to start the cleaning tasks...

S'funny how things can take a turn against you all of a sudden.

Anyway, the day started off reasonably well. A call to a mate earlier in the week sourced a set of original Pan exhausts, in reasonable nick for not much cash. Yea, not as flash as replacements but for £20 you cannot complain.

Budget = -£20

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/19/bikepics-1640300-full.jpg

That find certainly put a smile on my face as they seem to line up perfectly with the collector box I have at the moment. Some replacement systems have differing connection locations than OE.

So I began to attempt (with the aid of a mate) to remove the rear wheel. The axle bolt (as well as swingarm pivot bolts) is a 17mm hex head. What do I have in my toolbox? 10mm, 12mm, 19mm, 22mm etc. Fark. A short trip to Halfrauds later and I am the proud owner of a Draper 17mm Hex adapter for 3/8" drive socket. £4.99! Bloody criminal but needs must and all that.

Budget = -£4.99

To remove the rear wheel it's often advised to remove the rear mudguard and bracket using the four bolts at the back under the tail lights. Unfortunately one is so seized and rounded off that this cannot be done. We decide therefore to jack the whole rear of the bike up at the moment of axle removal. Firstly teh rear caliper mount bolt is removed, along with axle pinch bolts and all rear brake hose bolts. All come out fairly easily. Woo! Soon we undo the axle nut with a large set of adjustable spanners ( ) which comes off quite easily, and we draw the socket out turning the hex head on the LHS. The axle removed, the wheel now has to clear the drive splines from the rear hub, a process of pushing the housing into the rear wheel using your hands. (It's kind of like pushing your rear sprocket into where the cush rubbers go.)

After this it was up with the jack and a task of manouevering the wheel under the mudguard. I was very pleased to have a friend assist at this point.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/19/bikepics-1640302-full.jpg

Once the wheel was off we attacked the rear shock bolts. Top bolt, where the shock looked pristine, was fine. The bottom bolt was a right bastard to remove. It creaked and groaned but moved to teh end of it's short thread. After this it just refused to be pulled out! In the end we resorted to knocking the rear of the bolt using another smaller bolt inserted through a small hole at the opposite end of the bracket. A few heavy blows with a hammer later and it was out. Unfortunately the damping rod seems marked and scored. A chat with the guy at ABE should see if it needs replacing. Doh!

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/19/bikepics-1640301-full.jpg

Also, as I moved around the other side of the bike we noticed that the swingarm looks a fair bit worse than we had hoped. Notice that hole? Yea, that shouldn't be there. Fack!

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/19/bikepics-1640303-full.jpg

Welding could be an option but until we get it off completely we can't make a decision. Spares are approx. £100 secondhand and it all depends on how much rot is there, especially around the shaft housing which holds oil. At this point we drained the oil in the shaft housing noting that the oil wasn't very generous in quantity nor healthy in consistency; coming out as a thick black treacle-ish slop.

At this point I decided to inspect the output drive housing on the rear wheel. Hmm seems worn but I have seen worse.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/19/bikepics-1640304-full.jpg

The teeth look 3/8 ths worn but the whole thing is a rusty brown colour; a sure sign that whoever has been removing said wheel before hasn't been applying the specified moly-grease like they should. Also, the shaft oil has been neglected so it'll be interesting to see what the rest of the drive shaft teeth are like. I didn't notice any snatch in drive or anything and I'm unsure of acceptable wear limits on these parts at the moment. I'll check whilst cleaning but for now I'm still trying to get the swingarm off!

The LHS pivot bolt is held by a four-gap lock-nut requiring a special tool to remove. Unfortunately, despite trying to get around this shortfall I've been unable to shift the blighter. A tool will be purchased (not the official Honda £69 one though! ) for around £16 off the net. Until then, watch this space folks...
____________________
NSR125RR - ZXR750H1 - ZX9R E1 - GSF600S - GSF600SK3 - VFR400-NC30 - SV1000N - ST1100-R - CBR900RR-R - GSF1200SK5 - GSF600SK1 - VFR1200FA - GSXR1000K2 - ZZR1400 D8F
www.prisonplanet.com

[The999Kid]

Looking good! Keep the Good work up and thou shalt be rewarded with a healthy dose of

*Bookmarked*
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NDB 19/10/1989 - 1/11/2010 |Nowhere.Elyseum wrote: I get the distinct feeling that Tim should be our secret weapon for future trolling. I don't know many people that can rip the piss in Iambic pentameter

[lozwho]

Glad my mate in the CX club put me onto this. Interesting thread Kris; I just picked up a Pan (92 with 47,000 on it) for a similar restoration - never had one before so I'm already learning! Have restored many bikes over the years, mainly CX's and am looking forward to some serious mileage on this baby. Seems the weak points are the same as the CX : Swing arm, collector box etc........
Don't know if Pan people have made up a jig for welding the swing arm do you? We've found it's the only way to repair one without it buckling slightly.

Best of luck with the job Kris and 'keep it coming'

Loz
____________________
Ride safe.....

[map]

[Kris]

The stripdown - Day 4

As promised, I had more than a couple of hours on the Pan this weekend so made a bit more progress with regards to getting major components off. Firstly, the swingarm pivot bolt locknut tool (phew!) had arrived which cheered me up no end.

Budget = -£24.00

Anyhow, back to work. Firstly it was a case of manhandling the bike, now without rear wheel of course, into a position which I could work with. At the end of play last time I was left with the rear drive hub on, which is bolted to the swingarm end with four bolts. This has to come off first, so it was a case of soaking the four bolt heads in WD40 and trying my best to get a socket on them. Unfortunately the curve of the swingarm hinders this slightly so I resorted to using the UJ fitting in the socket set. The bolts were quite tight but eventually they gave up.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/26/bikepics-1647946-full.jpg

The hub now comes away from the driveshaft inside the swingarm and is put to one side. Now it's time to use my new tool on that pesky locknut, which had somehow now become one with the pivot bolt itself after my hammering.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/26/bikepics-1647947-full.jpg

The swingarm is held in with one pivot bolt each side, each roughly 2-3 inches long. Once these are removed it is a case of manouevring the arm out of the frame side rails and the driveshaft off of the output shaft on the engine. It sounds tricky but mine came out easily enough with slight fiddling required. However, I am certainly not looking forward to putting the bugger back on again!

You can see the drive output shaft on the engine block. It's connected back to the driveshaft via a universal joint and hidden by a rubber boot.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/26/bikepics-1647949-full.jpg

This is the swingarm finally removed and in daylight. You can see the holes a bit clearer now, the amount of rust that was hidden caught me by suprise a bit. The driveshaft is also pictured. This runs within the right hand side arm of the swingarm as previously described.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/26/bikepics-1647952-full.jpg
https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/26/bikepics-1647955-full.jpg

After examining the teeth on the driveshaft it appears to be in excellent condition, complete with moly grease applied. I don't need to mention how pleased I was with that!

Next on the agenda was the front fork removal. First was the removal of the remainder of the handlebar / yoke cover which obscures the top pinch bolts. This is easily removed; two small bolts each side hold the panels in place.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/26/bikepics-1647957-full.jpg

Next was the task of removing the brake calipers from the fork bottoms - which were then bungeed away from the wheel, then loosening the front wheel axle.

Again, I encountered a design that I'd not come across before with an axle that inserts from the left, with a bolt that screws into the axle end on the right. Once this was loose I jacked the bike up and propped it under the sump on a few bricks and wooden blocks I had lying around in the garage. With the bike sitting slightly higher than usual, the wheel came out no problems.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/26/bikepics-1647959-full.jpg

Next task was the fork top bolts. Because the forks are being stripped and rebuilt it's always prudish to loosen the top bolts whilst the forks are in the yokes. This saves anyone having to put the tubes in a vice to grip them later. Both gave no trouble and I left them hand tight.

Worth noting that on my standard non-ABS model the front brake hose is secured to a fork leg via a bracket inbetween the yokes. This has to be removed too, to allow the fork to slide out at the end. It's only a Phillips screw fixing and mine was no bother.

The top and bottom yoke pinch bolts came next, for which I was using my Stanley 3/8 socket with an adapter using a small socket set piece. After successfully undoing the top yoke pinch bolts I was getting carried away with my own mad skillz. One "Ping!" later and I was brought down to Earth as I had snapped the adaptor. Still, no bother. I resorted to using an allen key and extension bar instead.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/26/bikepics-1647960-full.jpg

The remaining pinch bolts came out with a few creaks and groans and once loosened the forks gave no bother in sliding out smoothly.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/26/bikepics-1647961-full.jpg

The chrome fork tubes are in good condition so hopefully some fresh springs, oil and seals and a powdercoat of the bottoms will leave me with a sorted front end. I'm thinking slightly stiffer springs and maintaing standard oil weight.

The swingarm is quite bad. I'm going to get it shotblasted to remove the remainder of the loose rust and see the real extent of damage. We shall see...

Once both wheels were removed it was easier to see the pitting on the rims. This is typical of the damage here:

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2009/04/26/bikepics-1647962-full.jpg

I'm pretty sure I can live with that to be fair. I'll treat them as a luxury at the end, if there's any money left. Ha!
Still to do this week is remove the engine cradle and bar ends and deliver all of these parts to a friend who will arrange powdercoating etc and rebuild the forks.

I also delivered the shock to ABE, so will have to pick up the rusty spring in time for that to go to the powdercoaters too! Busy times!
____________________
NSR125RR - ZXR750H1 - ZX9R E1 - GSF600S - GSF600SK3 - VFR400-NC30 - SV1000N - ST1100-R - CBR900RR-R - GSF1200SK5 - GSF600SK1 - VFR1200FA - GSXR1000K2 - ZZR1400 D8F
www.prisonplanet.com

[Robby]

Instead of shotblasing, drop the swingarm into an electrolysis bath. You can do it at home, shouldn't cost you anything, and is gentle on the metal.
I wrote a howto about it, which may in the howto list, or is otherwise somewhere in this forum. I wrote it sometime in the last year.